People gather at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday. /Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters
President Joe Biden flew out of Tel Aviv after throwing the United States' support behind Israel but saw his planned four-way summit in Amman canceled by Jordan.
Biden had flown into conflict-torn Israel on Wednesday for a visit lasting less than eight hours to show backing for Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu following Tuesday evening's deadly blast at a Gaza hospital which left almost 500 dead, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The two sides were at loggerheads over who was responsible for the attack at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, with Palestinian officials blaming an Israeli airstrike while Israel's military claimed it was caused by a failed Palestinian rocket launch.
"Based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you," he told Netanyahu. "But there's a lot of people out there not sure so we have to overcome a lot of things."
Biden later said his comment about the "other team" was based on data shown to him by the Pentagon. He will ask Congress this week for "unprecedented" aid for Israel, which is expected to be part of a $100 billion package that includes Ukraine support.
Asked what led him to conclude it was not Israel at fault for the attack, Biden said: "The data I was shown by my defense department." He also reiterated that he backs a two-state solution to the escalation and will ask Congress for an unprecedented support package for Israel later this week.
Smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. /Amir Cohen/Reuters
U.S. intelligence shows Israel was not to blame for a strike on a Gaza hospital, the White House said, as Biden stated it appeared to be the result of an "errant rocket" fired by a "terrorist group." The President said he came to Israel with a single message: "You are not alone."
Biden said he asked Netanyahu "tough questions" and it was later reported U.S. and Israeli embassies in Argentina were evacuated following two bomb threats received via email. The Biden administration issued sanctions aimed at disrupting Hamas' funding.
Israel will not allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza from the Israeli side of the border but will not block aid coming from Egypt, Netanyahu's office said. Meanwhile, two attack drones targeting American and allied forces in Iraq were shot down early Wednesday without causing casualties, said a U.S. defense official.
Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian teenagers near Ramallah in the West Bank during widespread protests against Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said.
Meanwhile, Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the planned meeting with Biden and the leaders of Palestine and Egypt would be held at a time when the parties could agree to end the "war and the massacres against Palestinians."
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Several police were injured in clashes with protesters who torched property near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordanian police said.
Russia's UN envoy asked for a meeting of the UN General Assembly while Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted the UN Security Council "has once again not fulfilled its responsibility."
Saudi Arabia has advised its nationals in Lebanon to leave the country immediately, its embassy in Beirut said. Sirens sounded in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, including in the city of Kiryat Shmona, warning of possible incoming rockets on Wednesday, according to the Israeli military.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Co-operation in Jeddah, where they discussed the current military escalation in Gaza and surrounding areas.
Israel's military said it was responding to shots fired at its military posts in the area of Zar'it along the Lebanon border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said the strike was a "tragedy" and showed the need to bring the conflict between Israel and Hamas to an end. "This is a terrible event... I really hope that this will be a signal that this conflict needs to end as soon as possible," he said.
China's foreign ministry said it was "shocked by and strongly condemns" the strike, calling for an "immediate ceasefire."
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